Alberta's last coal plant has powered down, marking the end of an era

CBC
·3 min read
Unit 2 at the Genesee Generating Station west of Edmonton was the last remaining electricity-generation facility in Alberta to rely exclusively on coal. (Submitted by Capital Power - image credit)
Unit 2 at the Genesee Generating Station west of Edmonton was the last remaining electricity-generation facility in Alberta to rely exclusively on coal. (Submitted by Capital Power - image credit)

Alberta's coal era has come to an end.

Capital Power's Genesee 2 facility — the last dedicated coal plant in the province — went offline at 10:57 p.m. Sunday.

And, according to the latest forecast from the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO), it's not expected to come back online.

"Given this was around the time they previously stated it would be fully converted to gas, I suspect that's it. The end of coal power in Alberta," Blake Shaffer, an economist with the University of Calgary who specializes in electricity markets, told CBC News on Monday.

Capital Power confirmed Tuesday its plans to convert the facility from coal to natural gas are now complete.

It's a notable milestone, as Alberta used to rely on coal for the majority of its power.

Back in 2001, coal accounted for as much as 80 per cent of the electricity on the province's grid, according to Scott MacDougall, director of the electricity program at the Pembina Institute, a green-energy think tank.

From 'very challenging' to 'here we are' 

In 2015, under then NDP premier Rachel Notley, the Alberta government announced plans to completely phase out coal power by 2030, as part of its broader climate policies.

Critics questioned whether it could be done.

"The industry was up in arms that it wasn't possible," Shaffer previously told CBC News.

"Even parts of the government were in disbelief. I think there was a general view that phasing out by 2030 would actually be very challenging, and yet here we are."

Blake Shaffer is assistant professor in the Department of Economics in the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary.
Blake Shaffer is assistant professor in the Department of Economics in the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary.

Blake Shaffer is an assistant professor in the economics department and School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary. (University of Calgary)

The phaseout ended up proceeding well ahead of schedule, in large part due to natural gas taking over much of the generation.

Electricity generated from natural gas puts out roughly half the amount of greenhouse gas emissions as compared with coal.

"In addition, overall water usage for the repowered units will be reduced with the new technology by at least half," Capital Power notes on its website.

Genesee units now '100% natural gas'

In a news release Tuesday morning, Capital Power said it was "immensely proud" to confirm all units at its Genesse facility were now "100 per cent natural gas-fueled."

The company estimates the change will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 3.4 million tonnes per year.

Alberta's greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation have been falling precipitously since the coal phaseout began, coupled with rapid growth in wind and solar power.

The province's electricity sector accounted for about 41 million tonnes of emissions in 2015. That was down to roughly 19 million tonnes in 2022, the latest year for which there is a complete inventory.

"This achievement marks a significant moment in history for this legacy, baseload facility that has delivered reliable and affordable power to Alberta for more than 30 years," senior vice-president Jason Comandante said in the release.

"Our investment in this facility will result in the most efficient natural gas combined cycle plant in Canada — a feat that significantly reduces emissions while delivering more megawatts of reliable, affordable and clean capacity for our province."

Capital Power expects the facility's maximum generating capacity will be boosted by 512 megawatts once additional efficiency upgrades are completed later this year.

MacDougall, with the Pembina Institute, says Alberta's experience with phasing out coal offers "a good reminder of the importance of good policy design with target dates."

"Establishing a coal phaseout timeline provided certainty for industry and stakeholders and allowed for efficient investment decisions aligned with phasing out coal," he said.

"It also offers a case study for the remaining coal jurisdictions around the world."

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Damage at Yukon's Eagle mine site could be 'worst-case scenario,' says local mayor

    The mayor of Mayo, Yukon, says a heap leach failure and slide reported Monday at the Eagle gold mine will have a "huge impact" on his community, and the territory as a whole. Mayor Trevor Ellis said he's shocked by the incident which has indefinitely halted operations at the mine."'Catastrophic' would probably be, from what I'm hearing, would probably be a good way to describe it," he said of the incident.Few details about what happened and the extent of the damage at Victoria Gold's mine site h

  • Rescued bald eagle is huge, but why isn’t its head white?

    The young raptor, found with a broken femur near a popular Tennessee lake, underwent surgery Friday.

  • A big boost for a climate solution: electricity made from the heat of the Earth

    One method of making electricity cleanly to address climate change has been quietly advancing and on Tuesday it hit a milestone.

  • A new carbon removal plant will absorb carbon dioxide 99,000 times faster than Earth's oceans

    Cutting greenhouse gas emissions isn't enough. We have to start sucking CO2 from the atmosphere and companies like Equatic are leading the charge.

  • Woman 'Seriously Injured' After Being Mauled by Wolves at Zoo in France

    A Paris woman was attacked by Arctic wolves while out for a run at the Thoiry ZooSafari in France and sustained bites to her neck, leg and back

  • This DIY brick sauna is helping frogs fight disease

    Wedged into the tiny holes of masonry bricks, which heat their bodies up to near 30 C, you might think Australian green and golden bell frogs would be uncomfortable.But new research says the amphibians love it, and that these DIY dry saunas — made with spray-painted bricks housed in plastic greenhouses — could give them an edge in fighting a deadly fungus."This is really exciting," said Anthony Waddle, a biologist at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, and lead author of the new study pub

  • The ‘world’s largest mammal migration’ happens here every year. War means no one knows about it

    New research shows that more than 5 million antelope cross South Sudan each year – blowing the world-famous Serengeti migration out of the water.

  • The world’s future energy wars will be fought under the sea

    Networks of undersea cables to transmit green energy at high speeds are sprawling as a climate solution. They’re also reshaping the geopolitical map.

  • Gassy cows and pigs will face a carbon tax in Denmark, a world first

    COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark will tax livestock farmers for the greenhouse gases emitted by their cows, sheep and pigs from 2030, the first country to do so as it targets a major source of methane emissions, one of the most potent gases contributing to global warming.

  • Protecting 1.2% of Earth would prevent most extinctions, study says

    Setting aside an additional 1.2% of the world's land as nature preserves would prevent the majority of predicted plant and animal extinctions and cost about $263 billion, according to a study published on Tuesday. The study in the journal Frontiers in Science aimed to identify the highest value areas in hope that they be included in those protection plans, said Carlos Peres, a study co-author and conservation ecology expert at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. The study's proposed protections would cover an additional 1.6 million square km (633,000 square miles) - an area about a fifth the size of the United States - across 16,825 sites globally that are home to rare and threatened species.

  • Wolf Shows Playful Interest in Grizzly Bear's Meal

    A wolf seemed super keen to get a piece of a bison carcass from a grizzly bear, footage by a nature photographer in Yellowstone National Park shows, but the bear seemed unimpressed by its antics as it bounced around.Trevor LaClair said he filmed the scene in April 2023, when the bear pulled the carcass from a frozen pond.“Two of the wolves approached the grizzly. One of the wolves got too close and the bear lunged at it as a warning. However, the wolf viewed it as an opportunity to potentially lure the bear away and began play bowing and bouncing around,” LaClair wrote on Instagram.“After a while, the grey wolf gave up and laid down nearby, waiting patiently for a piece of meat,” LaClair added. The grizzly eventually left and the wolves were able to get their turn.According to the National Wildlife Federation, a wolf will dance and bow if it is feeling playful. Credit: Trevor LaClair via Storyful

  • First Nations, Ottawa, B.C., announce $335M for protection off Great Bear coast

    VANCOUVER — A new financing initiative for 17 First Nations in British Columbia is set to expand protection for marine ecosystems off the coast of the Great Bear Rainforest.

  • As California's climate grows ever more hostile, a Joshua tree rescue plan takes shape

    As Joshua trees struggle with climate change, habitat loss and increasingly intense wildfires, California is scrambling to complete a conservation plan.

  • A potential Trump VP pick backs a controversial CO2 pipeline favored by the Biden White House

    BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is one of Donald Trump’s most visible and vocal backers, sprinting around the country to drum up support for the former president’s comeback bid while auditioning to be his running mate.

  • Garbage dumps may be ‘burping’ toxic ‘forever chemicals’: Study

    As many municipal landfills belch out gas from decomposing organic matter, they are also releasing toxic “forever chemicals” into the air, a new study has found. Scientists measured unexpectedly high levels of airborne per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at three dumps they surveyed — demonstrating the ability of these persistent contaminants to escape into the…

  • Watch: San Diego Zoo celebrates birth of endangered Baird's tapir

    The San Diego Zoo announced the birth of a female Baird's tapir, an endangered animal native to Mexico and Central America.

  • Zoo announces death of UK's 'oldest gorilla'

    Paignton Zoo announces the death of silverback Pertinax at the age of 42.

  • South Sudan says its 6M antelope make up world’s largest land mammal migration, but poaching on rise

    Seen from the air, they ripple across the landscape — a river of antelope racing across the vast grasslands of South Sudan in what conservationists say is the world's largest land mammal migration. The country's first comprehensive aerial wildlife survey, released Tuesday, found about 6 million antelope. The estimate from the nonprofit African Parks, which conducted the work along with the government, far surpasses other large migratory herds such as the estimated 1.36 million wildebeests surveyed last year in the Serengeti straddling Tanzania and Kenya.

  • Quebec City announces water restrictions for a third of residents during major repair work

    Starting Wednesday morning, about 35 per cent of Quebec City's population will need to reduce their water consumption for at least 10 days as the city carries out maintenance on a major water main. Residents in five boroughs will be banned from using water for various outdoor purposes, including watering the lawn, washing vehicles, spraying down driveways and alleys and filling pools in order to maintain the quality of drinking water. The restrictions are due to major repair work on a water main

  • Detroit plans to rein in solar power on vacant lots throughout the city

    DETROIT (AP) — Patricia Kobylski remembers when there were lots of people living in her eastside Detroit neighborhood. There aren't as many anymore — and haven't been for a long time.